Course overview
This course will enable students to develop an advanced understanding of the Aboriginal relationship to law and land, and the impact colonialism has had upon those relationships. Students will develop knowledge of the Aboriginal laws and their underlying philosophy, and the different relationships and world views that Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people have to the land. The students will also investigate key concepts in Australian property law and its recognition of Aboriginal relationships to country, and the recognition of Aboriginal law by the Australian legal system. The students will also review case studies relating to Aboriginal heritage and cultural issues and perform comparative analysis of international law and the position of Aboriginal legal systems with particular focus on the recent international debate on ownership and control of Aboriginal knowledge and land.